


...And Then Came the Reaper.

by Uniasus



Series: Fearlings and Then Some [2]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Death, Gen, Mental Illness, be it talk of it or actual killing, father/son relationship, lots of death, self idenity, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-20
Updated: 2014-10-18
Packaged: 2018-01-16 09:45:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1342939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uniasus/pseuds/Uniasus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been three years since Jack's absorbed the deathling and Pitch took him into the depths of space to help him gain control. Something has to be working, for the universe hasn't died yet, but Pitch has his doubts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Loss of Control

**Author's Note:**

> It's finally here ^_^. But those of you following me on tumblr knew it was coming, didn't you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's been going on the past three years?

It might have been his 21st birthday, complete with drunken debauchery, but Jamie Bennett was still coherent enough to look up into the night sky and notice Jack's star was gone. He was instantly sober. 

Caroline threw an arm over his shoulder, hot breath in his ear. “You stargaze all the time. C'mon. The bar across the street gives free shots to birthday boys too.” She was heavy, leaning on him to stand up right, and despite having known her since his freshman year at the University of Michigan Jamie wanted to push her to the sidewalk and yell about how there were more important things in the world than birthday shots.

But that wasn't fair. None of his neighbors and fellow believers from Burgess had joined him in leaving Pennsylvania. They had all gone to state schools. That meant he was the only one in the state who believed in Jack Frost. And more importantly, knew what had happened to him three years ago and what that disappearing star meant. 

There would be talk about it in his classes tomorrow, he was sure. No astronomy major would ignore the sudden disappearance of a star. Especially one without the signs of a death, be it nova, a left behind core, or a black hole. There would be theories, he was sure. Professor Hutchson might even tell them the telescope would be open for use tomorrow night. Someone would be starting to research the event. 

None of them would come up with the right answer. Just like they had wrongly said a star a year ago had suddenly dimmed in luminosity and then shortly become a brown dwarf. 

Someone had thrown out the suggestion of a sudden appearance of a large amount of dark matter cutting off the light. That was a little closer, and might have actually happened just before the time of death. 

What really happened, Jamie knew, was something more sinister and rare. Jack had lost control of the deathling, again, and it had killed the star. The university student knew Jack and Pitch would have been working in a solar system without life, because on the off chance the star was eaten any life dependent on it would die too. It didn't stop Jamie from saying a prayer into the heavens. The planets near that star may not have life, but now Jamie knew that the star had been alive.

He had a strong urge to get drunk again. “Led the way,” Jamie instructed Caroline.

Learning stars were sentient beings, and the Pitch Black used to be one, is what had propelled Jamie to study astronomy. Aliens were real, he knew that, and he wanted to prove it to the world since it wouldn't believe him about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. The later which was, ironically, an alien himself.

Tomorrow, he'd call Cupcake (who even at 22 didn't go by her actual name of Ethel) and everyone else. He might even get a message from one of Tooth's fairies, if not a visit from a Guardian. An aurora had just appeared in the sky.

Three years, two stars. Jamie hated to think it, but he had the feeling Jack was losing to the deathling.

* * *

He found her where she usually was, at a window on the dark side of the Moon Clipper. One of the moonbots had dragged a chair to the window so Seraphina didn't have to stand all the time. So she sat in it, for hours, for days at a time until her body told her she had to leave to eat. She slept in the chair. 

Kokab paused at the end of the hallway, staring at her. She wasn't using the chair, but was instead pressed up against the clear crystal of the window with her thumb and first finger forming a circle around the star that had died an hour ago. He hadn't known that particular star, it's age put its transformation to adulthood before his grandparents had grown. But it was entirely possible that it had been one of her ancestors. 

Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward until he stood behind the chair. She looked so peaceful, if a bit unsteady on her tiptoes. Kokab was hesitant to disturb her, but well, who else on the Moon Clipper was there for him to talk to? “Did you know that star?”

She ignored him, but when he asked a second time she turned to look over her shoulder. With a jump, she lowered her hand and turned to give him a shallow bow. “Prince Lunanoff! I didn't know you were there.”

Seraphina never noticed him, he was sad to say.

He guided her to a standing position. “I'm sorry. I'll try to make my steps louder next time. And I've said it before, you don't have to bow to me. I am no longer a Prince, I have no kingdom. There is just you, me, and your father. Call me Kokab.”

She nodded, like she had all the times before, but Kokab knew that she would slip back into old habits. It didn't help that no matter how often he worked at the coding of the moonbots, they also always only treated him as a sovereign. It had been all he could do to have them still address him as Prince and not Tzar.  
Like a magnet, she was drawn again to the view outside the crystal. Seeing she was some what coherent and willing to talk, Kokab tried conversation.

“Tell me what you are thinking.”

“Before, when it was eating my family, it didn't stop. One star, two star, three star. I am watching, to see if Jack will eat another star. But he hasn't.”

“No.” Kokab wanted to step around the chair and pulls her in his arms, feel her hair on his cheek, but didn't. There was no space for him to slip up behind her, the chair pushed against her calves, and even if he did he knew from past experience she would just quizzically look at his arms and he would remove them in shame. He strained for physical touch from another star, trying to reclaim that bit of safety that his parents' touch had always given him. Seraphina apparently had no positive associations with touch, or had forgotten them, and thus had no desire to seek comfort from it. It made Kokab's heart ache.

“Jack is strong,” he said, looking at the ashes of the star in Seraphina's finger circle. “It is one of the reasons I made him a Guardian.”

His control of the deathling was proof of just how strong. Kokab remembered quite well what had happened immediately after the previous possession of someone by a star creation. Three years, and nothing had happened yet. Well, nothing beyond the death of two stars. They were nothing to brush over, those stars had been full of life five years ago. But Kokab kept expecting to see a large black cloud come bearing down on this region of space. Every morning he released a breath knowing there was no danger, and then held the next one worrying if today would be the day that Jack lost control.

It was too early to tell if that day was today or not. The period between star deaths near Wrice had ranged from three days apart to three weeks. Only if twenty two days passed with no incident would Kokab release his breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Lunanoff has a canon first name, I have no idea what it is. But from here out in this fic, and maybe others I do, his name in Kokab. Amharic for star. Yeah yeah, name a character what he is in another language. I know you guys can all just hear Sean Connery complaining about similar injustice done to him. But well, I wasn't gonna name him James or Robert. Too normal ^_~
> 
> Also, sure you noticed but this fic won't be the alternating POVs the Fearlings had. I'll most likely keep to the same three – Jamie, Kokab, Pitch – but order will vary.


	2. Killing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch muses about Jack's new situation.

Pitch had at first thought what Jack needed was to mentally control the deathling. So to do that, he had taken a page from Nightlight's book. Pitch had harvested a bunch of star crystals from Wrice, worked them into a pointed staff that would replace Jack's incinerated shepherd’s crook, and stabbed the frost spirit through the chest. Thousands of years ago, it had distracted the fearlings enough to allow Pitch to gain control over them. 

It hadn't worked that way for Jack. 

Where as Pitch had just been harmlessly pinned, Jack had screamed. The deathling had been constantly killing him before, gaining power from Jack's unnoticeable deaths, and while it had been painful Jack hadn't been screaming until then.

Hurriedly, Pitch had pulled the star staff out, and it was only after Jack could speak again did he learn what made this more painful than anything else. 

Pitch and the fearlings were two separate beings sharing a body, with Pitch being in control only after a centuries long battle. Jack and the deathling...weren't.

In hindsight, maybe Pitch could have figured that out. Sure, the fearlings had changed his appearance just like the deathling had changed Jack's. Pitch's skin had turned to grey, Jack's skin was...still pale. From afar it looked molted, but close inspection reveled the grey parts to be constantly moving, something swimming in the Guardian's veins. Pitch's hair had turned from auburn to black, just like Jack's had turned from white to ash grey. But while Pitch's eyes had changed color too, from a gold to grey, it was because he had locked his memories away. There was no such explanation for Jack's eyes to turn navy. Or most alarmingly, for his ice to no longer be bright blue.

Pitch had noticed it on the Moon Clipper's shuttle, in the ice cocoon Jack had made to protect the others from him. At the time, Pitch had thought it was just a result of shadows, why else would there be grey spots in the ice. But when Jack screamed, Pitch knew something else was going on.

Jack was the deathling. Or maybe the deathling was Jack. Jack had jokingly said he now had multiple personalities, and Pitch had been hard pressed to think of a different metaphor. But regardless, the results were the same. Hurting the deathling hurt Jack.

“Look,” Jack had coughed, after Pitch had thrown the crystal staff aside. “If weapons against it hurt me, then maybe you could do it the other way around? Hurt me, and hurt it. If I disappear, if...” his voice got quite, “if I lost the bit of belief I have and disappear, it might to.”  
The look on Jack's face when Pitch slapped him had been priceless. 

“You are a stupid, childish boy.”

Jack had simply blinked at him. 

“You've already sacrificed yourself once, I won't let you do it again.”

“But, I promised Sera-”

“Sera is my daughter, and so I'll protect her. And I don't care if Lunanoff made you a Guardian!” Pitch cut off Jack's protests. “I said it before, sometimes Guardians need protectors and I'm yours. There's no proof that you loosing your believers and fading away will make the deathling disappear too. It might just weaken it, or not at all. That's your most final form of death, it'd feed it more than all the physical ones it unleashes on you now.”

Pitch reached out and brushed back Jack's bangs. Since he'd gotten his memory back, he could name the feelings that had started forming in his chest during the ten years they'd known each other. Fondness. Pride. Protectiveness. Ownership. All things he also associated with Seraphina. Even though he hadn't remembered being a father when he and Jack met, the frost spirit had still managed to make him feel parental. Some combination of Jack's youth, in looks, age, and mannerisms, as well as his habit asking for Pitch's approval and showing off ice sculptures had stirred up the notion of being a father. 

Seraphina at the moment didn't want him. She didn't reorganize him, with his grey skin, black hair, and new aura. Pitch also doubted he could help her. Jack however needed his help, and in the larger picture helping the Guardian control the deathling was more important than getting Sera to know her father and not be so unstable. Lunanoff could work on that.

“Besides,” Pitch kept his right hand in Jack's hair and use the left to cup the teen's cheek. “I would miss you if you disappeared.”

“Really?”

Pitch nodded. “And not just me. Sera, the Guardians, Lunanoff, Jamie and his friends. You told me one of the girls, Pippa...'kiss attacked' you I believe and you ran away. You have to have a talk with her, and you can't do that if she stops believing in you.”

Jack's eyes were watery, be it from tears or the recent mini death the deathling was putting him through. Regardless, what father could see a child in such pain and not take action to relieve it? He pulled Jack up from his position on the floor, still laying where he had been when Pitch had thrust the star staff through him, to wrap his arms around the Guardian's shoulders.

“Never thought I'd hear you say that,” Jack words were muffled thanks to Pitch's chest and the Nightmare King didn't respond. A week ago, he wouldn't had been able to.

* * *

Watching a star die effected both of them pretty badly. Jack would get elated from the power surge, the death feeding the deathling and thus feeding him too. But then Pitch could see the guilt spread upon his face the day after. He was gaining power from the death of a living creature, him who had taken an oath to protect. 

Pitch felt sadness instead. He had picked the stars personally for Jack to practice close to; working on the more advanced aspects with the deathling's power there was always the risk he would lose control and kill nearby life. Pitch selected stars at the end of their life cycles, those to whom a death at Jack's hand would be kinder and quicker than a natural one. They had also been aware of the risks. Still, it made him sad watching one of his kin die. Death is always sad.

It also made him realize for the first time that the universe itself was dying. There were only two stars left, three if you included him. Even if Seraphina and the Prince decided to have a child, it wouldn't be enough. Adult stars powered life of all sorts. But now, no, for the past few epochs, they had been dying with no hope of being replaced. When his daughter, the youngest star left, become an adult, she'd be the last star. Life would very slowly disappear from the universe. 

Pitch turned to look at Jack out of the shuttle's window, floating a few parsecs away where the star's core had been and only identifiable because of the glowing spear. He worried that all life would die and Jack would be alone again. Pitch didn't know what he himself was anymore: star, spirit, fearling. But all were capable of death. He wasn't sure if Jack was. 

There were times Pitch regretted the isolation he had put himself and Jack in, because he was very aware of what this star disappearing would look like to those on Earth, even if they didn't know for awhile yet given that light like all things had to travel. The light from this star had stopped reaching his eyes ten minutes ago. It would stop reaching his daughter's eyes in ten days. 

She, and the Prince, and the Guardians of course would have no way to tell that the death of this star was different than the death almost eighteen months ago. The first one had been an accident. Jack's series of mini deaths had stopped. Jack had gotten used to them, the constant pain and lost seconds, and as those deaths did feed the deathling it wasn't a meal it liked. Small power boosts was all they gave it, never enough to fully destroy Jack and never enough to get free. So what was the point? Jack had declared it to be bored, but Pitch had suspected it was just biding it's time. It had some form of intelligence after all.

Sure enough, Jack had insisted on trying to use the deathling's power and it had overwhelmed him to consume the nearby star. An accident they knew the risk of, but that nevertheless shocked them both. The mini deaths had returned for three months, but Jack held strong and they eventually stopped. 

This star death though, this had been intentional. Jack had set out to kill it. 

Pitch had done what he could to soften the guilt he knew would hit Jack tomorrow. It was an old star. A sudden demise was better than the slow decline starting from bloating to a red giant and then shrinking to a dwarf, so hungry that you start consuming yourself in greater and greater proportions as the hydrogen you used to produce energy dried up. Jack would provide it a peaceful death. The star had volunteered for it. 

It had just held Jack together before he pushed himself out of the airlock.

Mentally, Pitch sang a hymn of renewal for the deceased star. It highlighted the fact that star dust from a nova would find its way into everything, from new stars to planets to alien species. Never mind that this star didn't end in such a way, it had still been sending particles out into space. Stars and the light they gave off, the source of all life. 

Stars were also the source of the physical embodiments of fear and death. Maybe they had gotten too cocky, knowing the power they had over the universe. The Golden Age and all it's technology, brought down by an overestimation of it's skill. And because they were so powerful they had not just fallen, but destroyed themselves. As well as two species, the star herders and pooka, who did not deserve it. 

No, not just them. The universe had always been dying, that was the way of things, but they had accelerated it. Little new life would be broken, and deaths would be quicker now. Maybe. Only if Jack slipped up. 

There was quite hiss, and then a paltry feel of a breeze. Jack's unconscious happy effort to conjure up a wind but only succeeding in circling the air around him. It felt stale, and Pitch didn't know if it was because they had been living on the Moon Clipper's shuttle for three years now or if it was another away the deathling had crept it's tendrils into Jack's magic. 

“Did you see that?” he asked, navy eyes glowing with mirth. “I made it quick and sudden, and didn't effect any other life in area!”

Pitch smiled at him. “Yes, very impressive. You have an enormous amount of control.”

“Yeah, well,” Jack planted the star staff, a six foot tall crystal that ended in a point that was the one he had first tied to his shepherd’s hook now melded with the crystal staff, and leaned against it. “I had a good teacher.”

Pitch stepped forward and ruffled his hair. “Flattery doesn't work on me, Jack.”

“Pft. Yes it does, I know you.” Jack pulled his head away and then went skipping down the hall. “Come on, Pitch, let's race!”

Pitch watched him head towards the small lounge at the shuttle's front to set up the single entertainment screen and start up the racing game Jack was so fond of. This new found energy and over excitement would be gone in the morning, Pitch figured. Just as Jack knew him, Pitch knew Jack. 

And it was this happy display, as well as the one eighteen months ago, that made him realize how connected Jack was to the deathling. The Guardian had likened this death as a peace offering, something to give the deathling to keep it calm but done under Jack's management. Pitch suspected it was something else. Jack was feeding off the death of stars as much as the deathling, gaining power not just from the belief of children on Earth several AUs away, but the death of life. The Nightmare King didn't think the frost spirit realize that yet, and hoped Jack never did.

Jack already knew they were merged in some capacity, his ability to kill with a thought and the smoke in his ice and veins were proof of that. But to learn that they were more linked than that, that at their core (or center the old fool North would say) had also merged....the fall out would be awful.

Pitch had used his sense of self to gain power over the fearlings in him. He hadn't known his name was Kozmotis Pitchner at the time, and so had chosen to name himself after what he felt he came from – the darkness of space. But the idea that Pitch Black was a person separate from the fearlings, with his own desires and needs, and yes fears too, is what gave him an upper hand. 

He had helped Jack through a similar processes. He was Jack Frost, Guardian of Fun, spirit of winter and frost, protector of children, and many other things. He had been Jackson Overland , big brother to Olivia Overland, immigrant to American, and many other things. Jack was not the deathling, despite the melding of their magics. He was his own person, he was strong.

Jack was, essentially, a child who had been worried that he would disappear, and the consequences of that disappearance would be the world's end. And so Pitch had given Jack what he needed. Assurance that he wouldn't disappear because of who he was. 

If that self-assurance was discovered to be a lie, even if it hadn't been at that time, Pitch didn't want to think about what would happen.

“Come on, you old fart!” Jack yelled from the lounge. “I can't wait to kill you.”

Pitch closed his eyes and breathed threw his nose. Death humor, as well as this enjoyment of the power buzz killing gave him, were signs that the Jack Frost of three years ago was gone. 

Maybe it would be best if they didn't return to Earth at all. If the Guardians pointed out the changes and Jack's sense of self vanished, if he lost control around all the life on Earth and the deathling killed them all....

Pitch supposed it said something about how having his memories back and living with Jack for three years had changed him when his biggest worry wasn't the death of all the living things on Earth, but rather Jack's state of mind after he killed them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will pretty much be the tone for most of the fic. Except for the next chapter, when Jamie has a hangover. I do believe the tags said this was dark.


	3. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Jamie's a bit hungover and can't find the snowglobe to take him to North's for a meeting.

Jamie had drunk a lot the previous night, enough where this morning his head was pounding and he couldn't muster up the effort to properly wipe the sleep from his eyes. Despite having consumed enough booze to wake up with a massive headache, he hadn't been able to banish the thought of Jack and the other Guardians entirely from his mind last night. He had been looking up at the stars constantly, and when Caroline had made signs to join him for a 'birthday gift' in his room he had pushed her towards her own double around the corner. Jamie had fallen asleep staring out the window at the sky, drunken mind conjuring images of a deathling controlled Jack Frost that had prevented him from falling asleep for hours.

He had long ago learned that worrying about Jack did nothing but work him up into a tight bundle of nerves. Jamie would stop eating, get little sleep, and obsessively rub the small crystal snowflake on a leather cord around his neck. His friends had passed off all such days (never more than two in a row) as the result of the stress that came from exams and project due days. Jamie knew it was a miracle they hadn't noticed the discrepancy between his 'stress days' and school schedule and also knew that worrying did no one good, least of all him. 

It didn't stop him from worrying. And he knew the rest of the Burgess Brigade, as his hometown friends had called themselves when younger, felt the same way. 

His phone buzzed from some place in his room. A blurry look had him guess from the door, where his coat had missed the hook last night and ended up on the floor. 

With a grunt, Jamie rolled out of bed. The image of the aurora in the sky flashed through his head and he struggled to his feet, hand on his head to help starve off the headache. Any other day, and his first priority would be acetaminophen. But because Jamie was pretty sure the call was about Jack, he wobbled towards the door.

The call ended just before he picked it up. It was from Monty, and he didn't leave a message. Through squinted eyes, Jamie went to his inbox and started reading the text messages there. The first ten or so were happy birthday messages he hadn't checked while out drinking the night before (Sophie had told him to get smashed, while his mom had suggested not too), but then there were a collection from the Brigade.

_Did you see the star?_

_What do you think happened? The Guardians are gathering._

_Hear anything about Jack yet?_

_Jamie, you better not be plastered if we have a meeting, I'm so not holding you up._

_Still haven't heard from any of the Guardians, you?_

_Keep our belief strong tonight._

_I stayed up all night, and didn't see a single one of Tooth's fairies. You?_

_Snowglobe found! See you guys for lunch!_

_Jamie, where are you?_

_Hey, you coming man?_

_Please don't tell me you got so drunk last night you are missing this meeting._

_Pick up your phone!_

The last four had been sent within the past fifteen minutes, and Jack swore to himself, hangover pushed aside for more pressing matters. Claude had mentioned a snowglobe, which meant the Guardians wanted to meet with them to talk about Jack. Something serious, to get them all together. And apparently, he was late.

Snowglobe, snowglobe, snowglobe, where was it?

The phone rang. Monty again. This time, Jamie answered on the first ring. “Jamie-”

“I know, I know. Sorry. I just woke up. I feel terrible.”

“Hangover, birthday boy?”

“Half of it, I stayed up watching the sky. I read your guys' texts, meeting?”

Monty laughed. “Oh yeah, you were supposed to be at the Pole twenty minutes ago. The elves made lunch and everything. I'll have them whip you up something for that headache.”

“Thanks, but I can't find the blasted snowglobe. Can you ask Tooth where her fairies put it?” Oh man, Jamie was so glad he had a single. Any roommate would be staring at him right now.

As muted talking came through the line, Jamie hastily pulled out a change of clothes from his dresser. The ones he was wearing looked and smelled like he had slept in them. Which he had.

As he sat on his bed, phone between his shoulder and ear to pull off his jeans, Monty came back on the line. “She said they put it on your pillow.”

“Huh, must have rolled off the bed.” Jamie bent to check and yes, there was the snowglobe with a note taped to it, no doubt listing the time and location of the meeting. “Yup, found it. Let me finish changing and I'll be right there.”

“And brush your teeth!” Cupcake shouted, causing Jamie to smile. 

“Will do, see you in five.”

Five minutes later, Jamie landed on all fours on North's wooden floors. Still a bit hung over, the ride had made him queasy and everyone could tell by the big step they all took back from him. Steeling his gut, Jamie pushed himself to his feet. 

“At least tell me you're not still drunk.” Caleb said.

“What? No.”

“What a sad birthday,” Pippa threw out.

“Yeah well, when your pet star goes missing it's hard to only focus on drinking.”

“Hard to focus on anything when something is wrong with friend.” North came to give Jamie a hug. “Am sorry this had to happen last night.”

Jamie gave the Russian a pat and then pulled away. “Yeah well, things happen.”

“Come, others are by Globe.”

The Brigade gave him light hits and 'happy birthdays', with the exception of Cupcake who gave him a kiss. He was never sure where he stood with that girl. They had dated in high school, broke it off when she went to college a year before him, but she was still affectionate and when he was home from break it was as if they were in high school again. 

Upon seeing him, the Guardians ambushed him with hugs and greetings. He hadn't seen them since the last time a star disappeared, eighteen months ago. That meeting had essentially been a group worry session, consisting of half answered questions and dark thoughts. This one seemed a little different, even if the same questions still lingered in the shadows. He if hadn't known Pitch was off planet, and sorta a good guy now, Jamie would have sworn the Boogieman was hiding somewhere nearby. 

Jamie drank the concoction the elves brought for him with a grimace, but enjoyed the lunch tray. Everyone else had already eaten. Monty snorted in laughter as Jamie almost choked as he shoveled things in his mouth. The Guardians apparently weren't going to start without him. 

As soon as the last bite was swallowed, Bunny spoke. “We called you here because of Jack.”

“We figured,” Pippa said, crossing her arms. 

If Bunny's twitching fingers were anything to go by, it was obvious Bunny didn't like her tone. Tooth put a hand on his shoulder. 

“The thing is kids, we've been talking about what to do now that two stars have died. It's an even split, so we wanted your opinion too.”

“A split debate? What about the Moon?”

At Cupcake's words, all the humans craned their neck towards the skylight. Manny wasn't framed in it. 

“Manny has been quiet, has not said a thing to us since telling us which star Jack was near.” North patted his belly. “I feel as if he has other things to worry about.”

Right, Pitch's daughter. Who wasn't entirely sane after millions of years alone. Jamie was still tripped up over the fact that Pitch Black had a daughter. He hoped she was spared her father's nose.

“The thing is,” Tooth began, flying in a loose circle around the six college students, “we are worried about Jack and what Pitch is doing with him. Two dead stars in three years? Something is going on, and we want to know what. North and I think Jack should come back here, so the power of belief children have in him will be stronger. His story has been shrinking with him not here to start snowball fights.”

“Let me guess. Bunny, you and Sandy don't feel the same way.” Jamie said.

The Sandman gave an enthusiastic nod and began creating a series of pictures over his head with sand. It was way to fast for Jamie to understand, not that he didn't have trouble understanding the Dream Guardian at normal speed, and so he was happy when Bunny stopped Sandy and verbally explained their point of view. 

“We get that Tooth and North are concerned, but Sandy and I both know things could be worse. A lot worse. Sure, I hate the fact that Pitch isn't telling us anything, but whatever he's doing it has to be working. When the fearlings first took over Pitch, he killed civilizations. The deathling is stronger than fearlings, and Jack's young and inexperienced as far as being a spirit goes. The fact that Earth is still here says a lot.”

“So, what did you want us to do again?” Caleb asked, snagging a cookie from an wondering elf. 

“Should we contact Pitch and demanded to know what he's doing to help Jack?” Tooth said.

Jamie turned to look at his friends. It was a tough question. He was desperate to hear of any news about Jack. Was he still even Jack? The Guardians hadn't actually spoken to him since he had absorbed the deathling, but had been pretty detailed with the physical changes his friend had gone through. 

Knowing his friends as he did, Jamie predicted another split vote and so texted a seventh voter – Sophie. At fifteen, she couldn't vanish from school for a Guardian meeting like the rest of them. 

“I vote for contacting Pitch. At the very least, I wouldn't say no to sending Jack a letter to know he's thought of.”

Pippa quickly seconded the idea.

Cupcake didn't. “I know we've had issues with Pitch in the past, but I do think that Bunny and Sandy are right on this. Pitch is doing wonders and I don't want to disturb that.”

“Yeah, and we know he's a great planner. Pitch is probably keeping them isolated for a reason.” Caleb scratched his ear. “I say we just continue to watch the skies and wait for Pitch to send Manny the new coordinates.”

“Heck no,” Claude said, surprising them all by disagreeing with his brother. Being Irish twins, they had their own personalities but typically saw the world in similar ways. Jamie had expected them both to side with the two oldest Guardians. “Jack's my friend, and I'm tired of just staring at the sky every night. I want to do something! We couldn't help three years ago, so if I can now I want to know.”

“Boy after my own heart,” North said.

Monty nodded along with Claude's reasoning. “If not having contact with Jack helps him, than I would agree with it. But we don't know if it does. Pitch hasn't given us any information. At the very least, we should demand to know the basics.”

Jamie's phone vibrated with Sophie's answer. “Sophie's actually suggesting we go to the moon and bug Manny for information, but I don't he knows more than we.”

“That is six total for contacting Pitch and four for letting things lie, yes?” North clapped his hands and a yeti appeared at his elbow. “Bring paper and pens, we will all write letters to Jack to say how we miss him and then write letter to Pitch asking him to explain.”

Jamie checked his watch. He was already late for his literature class, so he might as well stay. He hadn't seen his friends in a few months and was looking forward to catching up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's official, I can't keep the idea of stars being an alien race out of my head for this movie. The details keep creeping into Dark Moon, High Tide and it probably won't be the first fic where that happens. 
> 
> Also guys, I would love it if you could spread the word for this story. It's just...this verse is one I dearly love and I've spent a lot of time working on and my plot bunny dump is more popular. :/


	4. Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardians deliver their letters to Jack.

Kokab smiled at the stack of letters in his hand. Jack had such loyal friends and stout believers. No other Guardian had as many true believers aged over 20.

Thinking that talking about Jack might convince Sera from leaving the window, he was surprised to see she wasn't actually there when he approached it. Instead there was a moonbot cleaning the crystal.

“Where is Seraphina?”

The moonbot dropped its cloth in it's rush to bow. “I am sorry Miss Seraphina is not here my prince. She is in the dining room.”

Kokab was actually pleased to hear that.

He made his way there himself, it was about time for lunch and he was looking forward to the idea of company while eating for once. Unlike the Guardians who were spirits, Kokab was alive and needed sleep and food on a regular basis. So did Seraphina, and it disturbed him that she only gave into those needs when there was no other option. He usually had to cajole her into eating, it was good sign she had gone to the dining room by herself.

Apparently though she hadn't gone entirely for her own purposes. Instead of sitting at the table and eating, she was in the kitchen attempting to cook. The moonbots were obviously flustered, cooking was their job but at the same time they couldn't bring themselves to say 'no' to her. Seraphina kept looking between the ingredients laid out before her and an Earth book Kokab had acquired centuries ago. The younger star was reading it with the help of a visual translator.

Remembering his promise from last time, he stomped his feet as he approached so as not to startle her. If the bots had been upset at Seraphina's presence in the kitchen, they were even more so by the sudden appearance of their sovereign. Seraphina however just turned to smile at him and that made all their flustering disappear from his mind.

Cooking was better than eating. It showed an interest in something besides Jack.

“What are you making?”

“The moonbots keep telling me I have to eat to stay strong.”

“That's true.”

“And I realized, Jack needs to stay strong too. More so than me. So I should cook for him.”

“Seraphina, Jack doesn't-”

“So I found this old book filled with recipes from when he said he was born.” She held out the book for Kokab's inspection. 

It was a cookbook from the Colonial period, something he hadn't known he had. It was opened to some type of stew. He took it from her since she obviously wanted him too. Kokab glanced through the directions, he was fluent in English, and it wasn't took hard. Still, Jack Frost didn't need to eat. And if he did, he wasn't not nearby to feed.

Kokab lifted his head to tell Seraphina that, but couldn't force the words past this his lips. Her fixation on Jack Frost wasn't healthy, she needed to worry about herself and start to understand what she missed. Namely her father being Pitch Black. But she looked so happy, standing in the kitchen with her sleeves rolled up and Kokab had to admit cooking for Jack was betting than scanning the stars for him. This was proactive, of a sort. Maybe he could use her obsession to make her see sense again.

He squashed the thought of why couldn't it be him that brought her around instead of Jack.

“I think it's a wonderful idea, Seraphina. Why don't we make it together, and then to test it have it for lunch? If it's good, we'll see about sending some to Jack.”

“Perfect!” She snatched the book back and to the horror of the moonbots Kokab himself filled a pot with water. He should have done this centuries ago, just for their faces. 

* * *

The stew turned out surprisingly good. Kokab was pretty sure the AI on Seraphina's ship had done all the cooking for eons, and Seraphina wasn't exact with the measurements. She kept portioning out ingredients and telling Kokab to put them in, muttering under her breath about how sugar wasn't healthy so less of that and meat was good for strength so more of that. In her mind, the recipe was a guideline and Kokab was certain the only reason it hadn't turned out to be a disaster was secret moonbot cook additions.

For a brief while, as they sat across from each other eating, Kokab could pretend that Seraphina wasn't someone he was trying to coax back to sanity. No, she was an equal, someone he could talk to, and maybe, spend the rest of his juvenile life with. He had about a hundred thousand years before becoming an adult.

“How was your morning?”

“Fine, I spent it looking for that book to help Jack.”

Jack. Jack, Jack, Jack. He cared for the Guardian dearly, but times like now he really wished he could have a conversation with Seraphina that didn't involve the winter spirit.

He took a breath. Jack hadn't asked for Seraphina's attention and right now was no doubt going through a harder time than the female star. There was no reason for Kokab to feel anger towards him. Reflecting back on his decision to use the idea of Jack to help Seraphina, he brought up the topic of the letters he had received earlier that morning.

Good, logical conversation. That's what she, and he, needed.

“I received letters today from Earth, from the Guardians and Jack's believers. They want to ask the General what his plans are regarding the deathling are.”

“We're sending letters to Jack? Can I write one?”

“We have to see if it's a good idea first.”

She frowned. “Jack helped me, so I have to help him now. Won't sending letters help?”

“That's the question.”

It was actually for of an issue of having the former Golden General outline his plans for helping Jack control the deathling. There were individual letters for Jack from each of his friends, which Kokab had not opened, as well as a letter addressed to the star that Kokab had opened. The question was, was Pitchner's silence a good or bad sign? Was he doing a good job or not? Was it beneficial to keep the rest of them in the dark?

It was obvious those on Earth were just as worried about Jack as Seraphina was. At least they had the capacities to know it would be impossible to send him food. They had voted and demanded to end the silence from space, but were giving Kokab the final say.

“Why wouldn't sending letters help?”

“Because - “

But in a rare moment she made sense. Letters to Jack would be a sign of support, and they could be sent without asking for details about his progress. Details which Kokad didn't want to press the general for. Because he didn't think he'd like all of them. He worried enough about Jack losing control, he didn't need facts slipping into to his vague fantasies.

But a simple letter, Jack we miss you and encourage you to be strong, there was nothing nefarious about that.

“I think you're right, Seraphina. We'll send those letters. Why don't you write one after lunch?”

It'd be in Verbal, no doubt, but hopefully Pitchner could translate it.

Kokab thought about also saying she should write a letter to her father, but Kokab hadn't even been able to broach the subject of Kozmotis Pitchner and Pitch Black being one and the same. He suddenly felt very guilty. He'd send along his own letter about Seraphina's slight progress.

* * *

Pitch had been surprised at the moonbot knocking at the shuttle's bay doors.

Jack was in the lounge, watching what he called 'slasher films' and laughing. Pitch, despite having done more than any of the fictional killers had done, couldn't bear to watch such movies. He preferred tales far removed from his life – romance and children's cartoons.

Hearing the knock, Pitch had quickly let the robot in and met it in the hold once it had filled with air. He didn't know how Jack would react to a message from the Prince.

If the moonbot had issues with meeting in an air hold, it didn't show any sign of it. It opened a compartment in its thigh and handed the bundle inside to him. Pitch took it and curiously found them to be letters. All addressed to Jack. He quickly flipped through them. He recognized the handwriting of each of the Guardians, the next few had to be from the self proclaimed Burgess Brigade. He paused, looking at the writing of the next to last letter.

Even after all this time, he knew his daughter's writing.

Pitch had a strong desire to rip it open, to learn just what Sera was writing in a letter to Jack, but squashed it. Sera might be a juvenile star, but so was he and she had long reached the point where if Wrice and  Aurelias hadn't been destroyed she would be settling down and starting her own family.

A sudden image of her and the Prince in wedding garments filled his mind. He shook the image out. Sera wouldn't do better Prince Lunanoff, but he hated the idea that such an event could occur without him present.

Pitch flipped to the last letter, hoping it was to him from Sera. While it was addressed to him, it was in a handwriting unfamiliar. It couldn't be one of the kids, so that left the Prince.

He ripped the paper open and started reading. Greetings, asking if they were well, and then information about Sera. She hadn't improved much, her logic was broken and she was fixated on Jack. Sera had taken to watching the star Pitch had given the coordinates to, a star that was now dead, but just the other day had left the window to eat of her own violation. Progress, though painfully slow, to the point that the Prince hadn't been able to broach the subject of her father still being alive.

Pitch had hoped...

He shook his head, there would be time to wallow later, but the letter wasn't over. The rest was, predictably, about Jack. Those on Earth were worried about him and doubting Pitch's teaching methods. The Prince supported them, knowing that it could be far worse, and worried what knowing the details of what Jack was doing would just make things more difficult for those on the planet.

Considering Pitch couldn't see the other Guardians laughing at a movie where people were getting killed all the time, the Prince was right. If it was revealed, even inadvertently, how much Jack had changed and the future letters commented on such a thing, the Guardian's sense of self could shatter. And that was all that was keeping the deathling at bay.

A soft beep reminded Pitch of the moonbot. “Did you have a response, General?”

“Yes. Tell the Prince things will stay as they are and that when I pick a new star for us to orbit around I'll send him the coordinates in the usual way.”

The moonbot nodded and Pitch stepped out of the hold so he could open the space side doors. It entered warp speed after leaving the slight gravity field the shuttle put out. A inter-space engine took up so little space, Pitch mused. Ships were only as big as they were due to occupants.

Pitch sighed, debating about whether he should even give the letters to Jack when the frost spirit appeared beside him.

“What are those? Hey, that's my name!”

For better or for worse, Jack Frost stole the letters from Pitch and went off to a corner to read them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crazy Sera is giving me a bit of a problem. I'm not sure I'm doing her justice or correctly, and am totally writing her from Kokab's POV cuz I would just fail in her head. Does it work for you guys?


	5. Hints of a Happier Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack makes a deal with Pitch.

Not knowing what the letters said, Pitch tip-toed around the shuttle for the new few days. The fate of the universe depended on Jack's self-image, and there was no telling if the letters from his believers and friends harmed that in any way.

All that Pitch actually knew was despite not needing to sleep Jack had spent the past three days in his room.

When the frost spirit finally did reemerge, while his physical appearance hadn't changed something internally had that made him seem more like the Jack Frost Pitch remembered from before the events of three years ago. 

Pitch was sitting in the lounge, watching an old children's show Sera used to watch as a kid. The musical sound of Verbal was soothing, as well as the memories it brought up of snuggling on the couch with his daughter. The AI had paused it automatically noticing someone entering the doorway and Pitch turned around to look over the back of the couch.

Jack was clutching his staff to him tightly, fingers white with pressure, and his shoulders were slumped. Gone was the sense of superiority and dark smirk Pitch had associated with the deathling. Instead, toeing the floor was the fourteen year old who had come to his lair thirteen years ago, asking if Pitch still wanted a family if he'd be willing if not to try one with Jack to at least accept the teen as a friendly neighbor. 

At the time, frustrated and angry and lonely, it had been the earnest nature of Jack Frost's eyes that had made Pitch pause before answering, to think that yes, Jack could be the annoying neighbor's kid whose ball kept coming over the fence. And he welcomed those brief interaction to come. Jack had slowly turned from the neighbor's kid to his own and Pitch had a suspicion that had to do with his own loneliness as much as his hidden memories of Sera. Seraphina had also simply wanted his company since he was so often gone. 

Now though, Jack wasn't looking at him, but at the floor.

“Jack?” Pitch asked and the frost spirit lifted his head. Jack's eyes were no longer the blue of pure glacier ice, they were they dark navy of deep water, but they were no less earnest then they had been before.

“Pitch, can I, can we, go home?”

He desperately, desperately wanted to say yes to that voice. Jack Frost should not sound so sad, not when he was the Guardian of Fun.

Or was. With death surrounding his magic core, Pitch wasn't sure if fun and joy could be considered his center anymore.

In the silence, Jack rushed into an explanation. “It's just that, I miss everyone so much. And they miss me. And North said something about how my belief base has plateaued...and...” he trailed off with a sigh. “I just want to go back home. Please. Even if it's just for a day.”

Pitch stood up and walked over to Jack to pull him into a hug. He was just under chin height. Jack let go of the staff, the crystal chiming as it hit the floor, to wrap his arms around Pitch.

“I want to go back to Earth too,” he admitted. He wanted to see his daughter and reconnect with her. He wanted to make amends with his Prince, to speak verbal with Sanderson, to have a long apology with the Guardians for his actions as a person he no longer was. 

Similar desires. It had tied the two of them together for awhile.

He pushed Jack away from him, brushing the ash hair out of his eyes as he did so. “However, we both know why it's not a good idea.”

Jack chewed on his lip. “I don't want to kill you any more. It doesn't show me images of all the ways I could kill you, and it was created for that.”

“I don't know if that's you gaining control, or it just giving up that particular battle. Do you still want to kill Jamie? Pippa? The Guardians? Seraphina?”

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but paused.

“We don't want to put them at risk.”

“I don't think I want to kill them. I don't see images of their deaths anymore at any rate.”

“Any killing in general? You've mentioned how you are attracted to the stars outside, how you dream of nothing but darkness. When you -” Pitch cut himself off before saying 'killed', “You were in control with that last star, and have gained an enormous amount of control over the deathling's powers. But do you really think your control is good enough where you won't slip and hurt someone accidentally?”

For an answer, Jack buried his face in Pitch's chest again and Pitch rubbed his hands down the other spirit's back. He hated telling kids no, but there was more at risk here than Jack's feelings. Pitch longed for the days when feelings were most important. 

Jack wasn't crying, he was too old a spirit for that and too knowledgeable of the consequences of his actions. That didn't stop his eyes from looking red when he pulled away on his own. “It says if I...if I feed it regularly it won't make a fuss.”

“What does it mean by regular feedings?” A star every 18 months or so was probably not what the deathling had in mind, not after it's freedom with Charaka. One every month? That wasn't allowed. The universe needed the stars. The micro deaths it had taken from Jack wouldn't be enough either, not judging by how that situation turned out previously. 

Judging by Jack's face, the answer the deathling gave him was one Jack knew Pitch wouldn't agree too. Or Jack himself. 

Instead, Jack struck up a deal. He hadn't proposed one since the early days of their relationship – if you spend an hour with me at the South Pole I'll not bother you for a week, if you help me with this prank, I'll tell you the name of a kid who could use ONE nightmare. As they got to know each other better, deals had become a thing of the past. 

This second reminder of the old Jack in a brief time make Pitch's chest hurt, because they were just that. Reminders. Jack Frost, the cause of snow days and sudden snow ball fights was gone even if Pitch told Jack to his face that that version of him was still around. Still, after not seeing any such hint of the spirit that had cracked the shell of Pitch Black, these two were heartening. Maybe Jack was getting better at controlling not only the deathling's powers, but also it's personality.

Maybe.

It was worth hearing Jack's deal.

“We start heading towards Earth now, regular speed, no warp, which would take years. We do that for a month, and I'll do all that meditation stuff you praise but I only half do, talk to the deathling some more, and then you can test me. See if I'm safe around those from Earth. If I'm not, we turn around and find a different star to hang around and do more training. If I am, we visit Earth. And hour, a day, a year, doesn't matter. But I get to see everyone and as soon as you say I'm not safe we're gone.”

Jack was giving Pitch a lot of power in this deal. To say no, to judge his readiness, to limit his time back home. It was a key indicator of just how much Jack wanted to go.

Pitch added one more stipulation. “Two tests. One in a month, and then before setting foot on Earth we'll go to the Moon Clipper first.” He hated the idea of putting Sera and the Prince in danger, but his general instincts were kicking in. There was no Empire, he did not have to focus on protecting the royal family. The sacrifice of two, even two such important people as Prince Lunanoff and Seraphina, was worth it if a whole planet could be saved.

He had made similar calls before, sacrificing soldiers. They had always haunted him, and while the eons had faded their names and faces from his memory the feelings remained. If Sera and the Prince went in a similar manner, Pitch would be a broken man. But Jack, both the old Jack and the new one in front of him, had reminded him that causes could be more important than people. The Guardians followed one, to protect children, and believed in it enough they were all willing to die for it. Pitch had found one as well. 

Life.

Regaining his memories of his time as Kozmotis Pitchner had filled his mind with the joy of it and Jack had shown him the importance of it. 

He had said it before, he would be Jack's protector, and in becoming so Pitch had also placed himself in the best position to protect life of all kind. 

“Deal,” Jack said, sticking out his hand. Pitch shook it. 

The frost spirit leaned down to pick up his staff and Pitch called up the screen's menu. “Did you want to select something else to watch? I'm sure there's a monster movie or two you haven't seen yet.”

“Actually,” Jack breezed up and over the couch, settling himself against an armrest. “Why don't we just finish watching what you were?”

Pitch blinked and then walked around the piece of furniture to sit on the other side. Jack Frost/deathling merger was wanting to watch a children's show instead of something objectifying death. Maybe they would be going home in a month.

* * *

Kokab hadn't expected much in terms of a reply from General Pitchner. Maybe a 'thank you for the letters' or 'I appreciate your concern but'. Getting a message that the shuttle may be coming back for a visit completely caught him off guard. 

He debated about telling Seraphina and withheld the information from her. He fully shared it with the moonbots and moonmice though. He knew, from the Guardians and Bunnymund in particular, that the deathling was stronger than fearlings. And if the Moon Clipper hadn't successfully thrown off a fearling controlled Kozmotis Pitchner Kokab doubted it could survive an attack by a deathling controlled Jack Frost.

It wouldn't stop them from trying. The moonbots got out the star sliver weapons and polished them, the moonmice made sure the shields were working properly and that the weapons were fully charged.

Seraphina didn't even take note of the hustle. Not having the location of a new star to stare at, she had taken to spending all her time in the kitchen making recipes from the cookbook she had found. 

When a moonbot made the comment that the dinner he was eating was truly the result of Seraphina's hands Kokab actually paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. Very unbecoming. He ate the mouthful, paying attention to it.

Seraphina had made the rice dish with the supervision of the kitchen workers, and supervision only. They didn't correct her mistakes behind her back. It was a sign that she was beginning to focus on what she was doing and not letting her mind drift to Jack and the deathling. Of course, they were still on her mind a lot, but they weren't the overwhelming thoughts they used to be. 

Maybe. She was still cooking Colonial food and not stellar dishes. He was beginning to miss those. 

Regardless, this was a positive sign of her healing and Kokab was happy to see it. 

If Pitchner and Jack were really coming, and not just potentially showing up, he'd tell her.

He ate with her, Seraphina chattering and giving the minute details of her cooking adventures. When she asked what he had been up to that day, he swapped the truth of checking the ship's security with a rendition of the most recent book he had read – a collection of tales related to the constellations seen from Earth. Seraphina was fascinated by them, and Kokab found himself drawn into the first intelligent conversation he'd had for, well, longer than he could remember. 

“I know we have our own stories about the stars in the sky, but they're all historical. It never crossed my mind that other cultures would see us and try to explain our existence with tales.”

“We might be the first and oldest intelligent species in the universe, but even we had crazy stories in our early days. During the rapid expansion near the universe's creation, it was believed we were being blown away due to a god's sneeze. We had no idea that the universe everywhere was moving away from a center point.”

“A point where we believed the god Flitne lived.” Seraphina smiled. “I can't believe our people use to actually believe in a parthenon of gods.”

“We were only the first to have such a belief. It was how we tried to explain what we didn't know. We learned quickly, both in our own time and compared to other species, but other cultures of course did the same thing. And we as stars are an integral part of the universe. We are noticed and talked about.”

“I guess,” she picked at her food and Kokab had the feeling their pleasant conversation was coming to an end. “What did Jack's people believe in?”

Of course, the conversation was back to Jack. "An all seeing, all powerful God I believe. Though his ancestors, far back enough, belonged to a Celtic tribe."

Seraphina tilted her head to the side, thinking, and Kokab took the time to push away from the table. "Thank you for the lovely meal, but I have things to attended to."

"Of course," she said with a slow blink, all previous intelligence from their conversation gone as her mind once again turned to it's fascination with Jack Frost.

Jealously really was unbecoming, Kokab thought to himself. He could admit it now, that he was jealous of the position of Jack in Seraphina's mind. Kokab understood it, she had fixated on him due to his similarities to star herders and then witnesses his confrontation of the deathling in an effort to protect her. And he also logically knew it wasn't a returned feeling. 

He hoped.

When they first returned, the Guardians hadn't mentioned anything relating to the relationship between Seraphina and Jack aside from her clinginess and Jack's desire to get away from everyone. Pitchner hadn't mentioned anything, but he didn't mention anything about anything. 

Kokab sighed, wishing for less complex days. He missed the tranquility of the Moon Clipper when it was just him and the moonbots and moonmice. No one disrupted his routines, he had his favorite food on a regular basis, he didn't have to deal with the pressure of coaxing a girl back to sanehood when he had no experience with mental illness. Still...

He paused at Seraphina's normal window. The moonbot cleaning it was gone, but the chair was still there. Noting there wasn't anyone around to witness unroyal behavior, Kokab flopped into the cushions. 

It was nice to not be alone. When the fearlings had escaped and became Pitch Black, Kobab had been young even by the standards of main sequence stars. Not too young to have memories though, and despite it having been a time of war those memories were some of his happiest. Of drifting off to the conversation of his parents, family meals, hugs and hair ruffles.

Seraphina's presence was bringing many of those back to him, ignored due to the many years he had lived. But today, with them sharing lunch and having an intelligent conversations...the scene easily shifted in his mind from staring across the table at Seraphina to starting at his mother, moving his head back and forth between her and his father as they engaged in a friendly debate. 

She reminded him of when he wasn't alone and now also served as proof that such periods of loneliness were over. Seraphina gave him hope that maybe, instead of feeling content in his life, he might one day feel happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TT.TT I've lamented before at how dark and serious a turn this fic took and Pitch is not making things easier. And at this point, I'm not even sure if I can promise a happy ending. I promise guys, I can write lighthearted stuff! They're just all, well, short. 
> 
> I'm never gonna be a best selling novelist cuz who'll buy a book that's depressing? No wonder my sales are so low.


	6. Visitation Rights

Jamie's astrophysics lab finished an hour before midnight. Despite the hour, the work in the observatory had been invigorating and he was in no mood for bed. Instead, he cruised through the Subway in the Union just before it closed and made his way back to his dorm already thinking of the lab report he needed to write up.

All thoughts of getting work down however flew out the window when he opened his door to see Tooth dancing in the air to his speaker system. The music wasn't very loud, he hadn't heard it until he opened the door, so she immediately turned to wave hello when Jamie opened the door. 

"Hey Jamie! How are you doing?"

"Alright I guess. Classes are interesting as always."

"I'm glad."

"So what's up?" He asked, slinging his backpack onto his desk and unzipping his jacket. "You don't usually make social calls."

"We got an answer to our letters."

"Really? Jack wrote us back?"

"Not exactly." She turned off the music and settled on his bed. Jamie pulled up the desk chair so it was in front of her and sat on it backwards. "Pitch said they're coming back but," she cut off Jamie's cheer of joy, "that's not a promise we can see him. There are a few...issues."

"Like what?"

"The major one probably has to do with how Pitch has been helping Jack. It works, but there's a factor of risk involved that might make Pitch change his mind about letting Jack visit."

"Which is?"

Tooth sighed. "When I saw Jack for the last time three years ago, he was physically changed. No longer white and pale blue, but gray and navy."

"I know, Bunny showed us some paintings."

"Apparently, the changes aren't just skin deep. Jack's...personality and magical core have changed. According to Pitch, he and the deathling are going through a merger. But Jack doesn't know that. He was so afraid of changing and losing control that what helped the most was Jack thinking he hadn't changed much. In his mind, Jack is still the Jack Frost that made it snow in your room and used to take you ice skating in April."

"But he's really not," Jamie guessed and Tooth gave a nod with a sad smile.

"Jack's self image is key to his control over the deathling, and if it's lost, if he realizes just how much he's changed....it would be a disaster. It likes stars the best, and if it eats Sol because Jack's control slips life on Earth won't last long."

Jamie swallowed. He missed Jack, well and truly, but if he needed more time he shouldn't rush back just because the Burgess Brigade and the Guardians mentioned they wanted to know how he was doing.

"How sure of Jack's control is Pitch?"

"I'm not sure. It was Jack's idea to come, not Pitch's, but he gave Pitch veto power and for all the times Pitch could have used it he hasn't yet. On Friday, Manny said that Pitch and Jack will be on the Moon Clipper, and if things go well we'll see Jack Saturday morning. Anything can happen this week, or even on the Moon, that could have Pitch saying no to Jack seeing us."

"So don't get my hopes too up."

"Yeah," she seemed to wilt in the chair, as if she wanted to keep them up and had to constantly remind herself why not.

Jamie couldn't blame her. Seeing Jack would be amazing and wonderful and a relief, to know that his brother was okay. But Jamie knew there were more important things than filling the ache in his chest. Like the life of every living thing on the planet. Still, he knew he'd be hoping that Jack stayed strong, that no one shattered his self image, and Pitch deemed him safe for at least a short visit for the next five days.

"Are you going to tell the others?"

"I suspect some of them already know, I didn't realize you had class so late. We split up, it's nice that Claude and Monty are dormmates and that Caleb is just down the hall. Makes it easy for North. Sandy's telling Cupcake and Bunny Pippa. As for Sophie, I figured you could tell your sister. Bunny would have liked to, but Easter's not that far off and he's a bit busy. He wants to get all that he can down this week so he can spend time with Jack. If he's only here a few hours, Bunny doesn't want to waste any of that fussing over something that could have been done earlier."

"And if Jack's here for days?"

"Then Bunny will try to spend as many of them will Jack as possible, we all will. Which means our furry Pooka friend will most likely need an extra pair of hands, or seven, this year."

"I'm game. Exams finish two weeks before Easter this year."

"I'll let him know." She activated her wings, lifting herself from the bed. "I should go start collecting teeth."

"Okay." Jamie walked her to the window and before she could fly out of it caught her wrist. "Tooth, how much do you think Jack's changed? A lot? A little?"

"I'm not sure, only that Pitch gave Manny the impression that it's enough to be obvious."

"But not as much as Pitch changed, right? When the fearlings took over him? He's not...evil?"

Tooth pulled in close and laid a hand on either side of Jamie's face. "Jack still has his memories and hasn't destroyed the universe, so no. He's not evil and he hasn't changed as much as Pitch did. You understand that? He'll be different, but he'll still be Jack Frost."

Jamie let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Good night Jamie."

Tooth flew out the window and Jamie opened his laptop to see if Sophie was on Skype.

* * *

Jack was struggling, that was easy for Pitch to see, but he was on the winning side. He took the meditation seriously and Pitch could see the effects. Jack too noticed them with a pleasant surprise; he was calmer and more grounded in both the literal and mental sense. He was walking more often then his long leaps of short flying, which was the only thing the ship's environment could handle. He didn't complain either. 

They kept up their watching of Aurelias children classics, to Pitch's great surprise, though Jack still insisted on violent games. He hadn't let up on the dark humor either, but he did let up on the habit of not looking Pitch in the eye. Jack had admitted that the closer he was to a person, the more the deathling showed images of that person's demise. As Pitch was it's primary target, Jack had avoided locking gazes with him on the off chance Pitch could tell what they were by looking into his eyes. 

"Only one of us has to see that," he had said and despite Pitch's insistence that they needed to talk and figure every little thing out, Jack refused to divulge details of the death scenes the deathling gave him, asleep or no.

But Jack was looking at his face now, looking into his eyes and while not smiling like the Jack of old he wasn't flinching from what the deathling was doing either. At first, Pitch had labeled it as Jack pushing through things in his desire to go home. A mask that Pitch dug deep to look under. 

He didn't find the answer by analyzing Jack's behavior, but by that of the fearlings his body housed. 

The fearlings had been...scared ever since he had first approached star eater with the Guardians in the shuttle the Prince had lent them. After learning that the star eater had actually been an artificial construct like the fearlings, an embodiment of death that Charaka Lunanoff had created to destroy what had killed her family, Pitch wasn't surprised. 

The deathling had been created to kill him and that task was well within it's power. Personally, he wasn't too affronted by that fact. As Pitch Black he had done dreadful things and now that he had those memories as well as those of his old persona of Kozmotis Pitchner he knew he deserved to be punished for what he had done even if he hadn't been in control at the time. 

He didn't blame the Tzarina at all for wanting to kill him.

Still, death was something he wanted to avoid. He had Sera back now, sort of, and Jack to think of. The deathling being so close had tormented the fearlings, they had wiggled in his belly and gave him nightmares. His skin felt like it was always itching and it had taken a large amount of willpower the first month to be in the same room as Jack. As the past month had progressed though, they had calmed down. Pitch hesitated to say they had returned to a normal state, between dealing with a sudden influx of memories and then living with death incarnate for three years the fearlings hadn't been in a typical environment, but he supposed that this was a state that could be a norm.

Something of the fearlings noticed something was up with the deathling, something for them to no longer fear it.

Jack had made monumental progress in the past few weeks. 

It made Pitch wonder if he hadn't really be trying before, but that was unfair. He knew Jack had been. Still, it was very much like a teenager for him to not be motivated about potentially killing neighboring stars but rather by the promise of going home. And it did look like they were going there, or at least to the Moon Clipper for the second test. 

For the first time, he allowed himself to imagine wrapping his arms around his daughter.

"Come one, that quip wasn't that funny. Unless there's a cultural translation I'm missing?"

Pitch turned to look at Jack, smile still on his face. "No, no, you were right. I wasn't thinking about the show."

"Oh?" Jack turned on the couch to face him fully.

Pitch reached a hand out to ruffle Jack's hair, and the winter spirit still leaned into the touch like he hadn't felt it in three hundred years instead of three hours. "I was thinking about how wonderful it will be to see Sera again."

Jack's face lit up. "We're going home?!"

"We're going to the Moon Clipper," Pitch corrected. "And if that goes well, then yes."

With a shout, Jack launched himself across the couch to hug Pitch. If he had been standing, Pitch was positive he would have been knocked over. 

"That's better than beating my high score of decapitations during a mission this morning."

Pitch had the sudden urge to say something sappy, like...the greatest joy is spending time with family, but he knew Jack would just roll his eyes. Instead, he simply hugged Jack back.

* * *

Kokab had been putting it off too long. Pitchner and Jack would be there in a few hours, if he had calculated the warp time correctly from the location Pitchner had given him. Maybe Seraphina could handle this, maybe not, but he hated the idea of the general arriving and having his daughter not know who he was. It would be like...like if his parents had survived the attack on the Moon Clipper long ago and turned into full fledged stars, attracting planets, and he didn't know where.

He found Seraphina in her usual chair by the window, curled up reading a book. The lack of coordinates from Pitchner seemed to actually be doing her good. Without having a star to stare at, thinking of Jack in orbit around it, she didn't spend her days pressed up against the glass. Her activities still revolved around the young Guardian - evident in her choices of meals to cook and books to read - but they didn't have the single minded focus of her staring. And...was that a book in Verbal she was currently reading? There was no logical way that it was connected to Jack in anyway. Though he wouldn't put it past her to find some connection.

Kokab made his footfalls heavy for the last three steps to the back of the chair. "What are you reading?" he asked, though this close he could read over her shoulder and could see for himself.

"Our talk the other day reminded me of these, so I wanted to read them again." She used a finger to mark her pages, and then closed the book to read the title out loud even as Kokab read it silently to himself. "Stellar Myths." It was filled with old stories about gods and goddesses stars used to believe in and still told to young children and studied in school as literature.

With anyone else, he would have brought up Earth myths and began an comparison between stellar and terran myths and the historical development of them. But he was so pleased to see Seraphina doing something she wanted for her own sake and not connected to Jack's that he didn't. She might link it to Jack somehow.

"I always liked the one about the First Stars."

"I'm a fan of Greshen myself."

Kokab frowned. Early on, when the stellar race was mainly all juvenile stars and not adults on the main sequence, there had been a myth that Greshen was a universal force of darkness. It was gift of Fline that they would bust outward at the start of fusion, later collecting planets and stimulating life. Greshen did her best to keep adult stars in a small area, not letting life take root in the rest of the universe. Fline however, kept fighting her and the space filled by adult stars grew. Now, science proved the close location of early stars had been the small size of the universe and the expansion of territory was the expansion of the universe. Greshen, and the fear she had instilled in their race in ancient times, had been brought up frequently around the creation of fearlings.

Taking a deep breath, he gathered the courage to say what he had been planning to when he sought her out.

"What do you remember of the fearling attack?"

She stiffened and looked out the window. While he couldn't say for sure, he suspected her eyes were on the dark part of space of the star who had died at Jack's, no, the deathling's hands, most recently. Seraphina obviously remembered something, despite being younger than him and Kokab had been pretty young himself when his parents first shuffled him to the Moon Clipper.

What was that saying, give a little, get a little?

Kokab placed his elbows on the chair and leaned forward, not looking out the window but rather at Seraphina's reflection. 

"I remember my star herder protector, Nightlight, pulling me from my playroom. I kept asking him what was going on, but he didn't say anything. He took me to my parents, and before I knew it we were boarding the Moon Clipper with a squadron of guards. Nightlight still wouldn't tell me things, but I pick it up from generals talking to my father and the soldiers talking amongst themselves. The fearlings had gotten free of the prison planet and were coming towards us. They had taken a body, and were fixated on me for some reason. I remember..." he closed his eyes, feeling the images rise in his mind. " Aurelias was shinning gold and bright beneath us we left, but as we moved farther away from the city and could see all of Wrice there was many ships leaving. There were two who crashed into each other as they rose from the atmosphere, no one was controlling take offs. And the lights of other settlements on the planet, I watched one go dark. It was strange watching it, because I didn't know what happened, but I know now it's because the fearlings killed everyone."

Seraphina's eyes had moved from the dark part of space to his reflected face when he opened his eyes.

"The fearlings destroyed the Golden Capital Aurelias and the rest of the cities and towns on Wrice. I gathered that from snippets of overheard conversations and broadcasts from the radio before Nightlight blocked the news frequency from reaching my room. The Moon Clipper didn't just enter warp speed to get away, we jumped."

Another things he only learned later, the difference between moving faster than light to a location and utilizing quantum physics to tap into the random teleportation and probability of being somewhere traits of subatomic particles. One was to a known, planned destination. The other was to someplace random, and thus rarely used. But when running away from Pitch Black, what choice was there?

"We would jump, hang out in the sector for awhile, jump again, wait. It was a thousand, maybe two, years later when we jumped and ended up here. We hadn't expected the fearlings to already be in the area. They attacked. They got into the ship. The form that the fearlings took...it attacked the soldiers, killing them all. It attacked the herders protecting my parents. And when it turned to me, my parents and Nightlight launched themselves at it. There was this great flash of white light and when it was gone so where they. I've been alone on this ship ever since."

"I...I was in school." Seraphina began, face scrunched up in thought. "I remember a student giving my teacher a note, it was sealed and so strange, and then she took us all to the gym. I didn't know what was happening, but overheard an older student's phone. They were listening to the radio. The fearlings had escaped and I remember being so scared because if they were loose it meant my father was dead..." she gave a sob. "I lived on a military base, because of my Dad, and I wasn't the only one who had lost a parent. One of my friends lost her mom, and Chevali and I held each other."

Kokab watched her silently, but the idea that her father had been anything other than killed hadn't seemed to have crossed her mind. 

"Late that night, parents came to collect their kids. There had been a fight on the other side of the planet, and most of the students had parents who had only been on reserve and not actually in battle. Most. There were about ten of us who didn't get picked up. Since...since my dad was gone and mom had joined the main sequence already, I was living with one of the teachers, a friend of dad's. We all slept at his house that night.

"It was maybe a week later when they said to evacuate the planet. Mr. Ochtiva rushed us all to the ship yard, but before we could get there." Seraphina shuddered and Kokab didn't blame her. He had never actually seen a fearling horde swarm before, but he knew it was graphic.

"You probably remember how the ships work, you could only enter if you were on the list. I was the only one the AI on mine allowed on. There was this mother and child, who kept trying to get on, my ship was closer than the one they were assigned to, and the AI wouldn't let them even when I begged it to. It slammed the doors close when fearlings started coming up the ramp, and I heard screams outside the door." She closed her eyes, fear on her face, and in a heartbeat Kokab was pulling her into his arms over the chair's armrest. She didn't react much to the touch, and he squeezed her tighter before pushing her gently away.

"I don't know if this is the best time to tell you, but I feel like you should know before he comes."

"Who?"

"The fearlings...they didn't kill your father. Not really. Instead, they took over his body and used it to destroy Wrice."

She stared at him, unblinking, and Kokab continued.

"They controlled him, he couldn't stop them, and went by the name of Pitch Black. Have you heard that name before?"

A slight nod. 

"Well, he's your father again. His memories got locked away, and he has control over the fearlings now. He's been on Earth for as long as the Moon Clipper has been here, and now he's helping Jack." He winced at that, hoping Jack's name wouldn't derail her thoughts and so pressed on quickly. "You met him, a little bit, on the shuttle with the other Guardians? Playing that cloud game? He was the one with black hair and silver eyes, black clothes too. Do you remember?"

"My dad doesn't have black hair."

"He didn't, that's true. But the fearlings changed him. However, it's him, it really is. I promise. Do you understand all this?"

"Not really."

"The man commonly known as Pitch Black is Kozmotis Pitchner, your father. Just...just try to remember that. He's coming to visit. He'll be here soon actually." On impulse, Kokab leaned in to press a kiss to Seraphina's forehead. "At least, try to say hello."

He pulled away and then made his way to the command center to make sure everything was prepared for the worst case scenario with Jack.

* * *

Jamie kept bouncing his foot under the table and judging by the looks his lab partner was giving him, it was driving Stephen crazy. But Jamie couldn't help it. He didn't want to be here, taking spectroscopy reads of stars and identifying their elements and luminosity to graph them on the HR scale. 

He wanted to be with his friends, the Burgess Brigade, Sophie and the Guardians at the Pole while they spent the night staring up at the Moon and praying Jack both didn't destroy it and that Pitch Black would let him visit tomorrow morning.

But no, he had a Friday night lab class and there was - he looked at his watch - thirty minutes to go.

"Would you stop doing that?" Stephen hissed, turning away from the computer screen to stare at him.

"Sorry," Jamie said, putting a hand on his thigh. Instead of bouncing his leg, he bounced his toes in his shoe.

"What are you so anxious about? Meeting a girl at Necto when this is over?"

"No," though he had meet Caroline and some of his other friends there after class before. 

With an eye roll, Stephen input the star on the graph and Jamie started identifying the black bands on the reading of the next one. Just this last star and then they would finish the assignment. Maybe the prof would let them go a few minutes early?

As it was, he and Stephen got into a bit of a heated discussion over the color of the star and argued over what subclass to label it as. In an effort to leave sooner, Jamie relented and Stephen smugly put in the data. A quick e-mail sent it to the professor, who sitting at the front of the class got it a few minutes later. 

"All right guys, times up. Send them in if you haven't already."

Jamie scooped up his bag, eager to rush out the door, but someone calling his name had him stop. He turned to see Jay and Ryan, students who lived in his area of Ann Arbor and who he usually walked most of the way home with. Lab did get out at eleven pm.

"Sorry, not going up Washtenaw tonight."

"Oh, right then." Ryan eyed Jamie's rather stuffed backpack. "See you in class on Tuesday."

"See ya." He bolted out of there and into the men's room. After checking the coast was clear, he pulled the snow globe out from the top of his bag. 

"North Pole," he whispered to it, keeping an eye on the door. He threw the glass ball to the ground and jumped into the portal just as someone else entered the restroom.

Apparently, throwing the snow globe at the ground meant a horizontal portal, which meant instead of walking from one place to another Jamie fell from one place to another. It was only a foot, but enough to have him landing on his knees to the sound of snickering. 

Jamie lifted his head to glare at Sophie and Bunny who only snickered louder. 

"How was class?" Cupcake asked, scooting over on the couch to make room for him. 

"Long," he answered, putting his backpack with the others and plopping down next to her. The table between the couches and arm chairs his friends were sitting on was to his pleasure filled with food. Jamie started stuffing his mouth.

"You know," Caleb said as Jamie took a bite of yeti made pizza. "I'm pretty sure the elves did something to that pizza. There's bits of felt all over it."

Well, that explained why it was untouched. Jamie convinced himself they simply ran over it a few times and didn't do something like lick it. Still eating, but now with a somewhat happy stomach, Jamie looked up to the skylight. 

"Any hint of what's going on up there?"

"None at all," Sophie growled.

"No news is good news, we think." North said. 

"At the very least, the Moon's still there and so are we," Bunny said. "That's better than I expected. Pitch must be doing right by Jack."

"Good," Pippa said and Jamie echoed the sentiment with a nod. He looked at the moon for another few seconds and then returned his attention to the Guardians and his hometown friends. They were all here, might as well enjoy the company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know MiM's and Seraphina's official story is for the Golden Age, so that part's fictitious fiction. Also, Sera never learned English. She speaks Verbal with Kokab and as Jack now has a good handle of it they will converse in that language too.


	7. Meet and Greet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch and Jack visit Sera and Manny.

Jack was smiling and bouncing in place so much Pitch couldn't help but smile too. The Guardian was pressed against a window, watching Earth grow as they approached it. Pitch however was focusing on the Moon Clipper. That was where his important people were. 

"Pitch! Have you ever seen something so beautiful?" Jack traced the sphere of Earth, just small enough to fit in the window pane.

"No," he lied. Wrice had looked more beautiful to him whenever he returned from a tour in the darkness of space. But he supposed it was an issue of home. Wrice had been his home planet, while Earth was Jack's. 

Beeping from the main counsel had him take over steering the ship. The AI could have done it, but he liked having something to do with his hands to keep from worrying. Was this the right choice? Could Jack really handle this test?

He had made his choice, said yes. Might as well stop worrying because Jack had said he had the final say in how long they stayed on Earth.

They were close enough to the planet to feel it's gravity, it required a delicate balance of drifting and thrusters to send them into the Moon's field and not crashing into the middle of Africa. But he hadn't passed flight training for nothing, even if it was eons ago, and they safely docked inside the Moon Clipper.

"What's that phrase again?" Jack asked, bouncing on his toes while they waited for the air to equalize in the docking bay before exiting. Pitch believed that if they were anywhere else, Jack would be floating instead of bouncing.

"The translation?"

"Cuz I have the time to figure it out." Jack rolled his eyes. "No, the Verbal phrase."

Pitch gave it to him and Jack began muttering it to himself, making sure he remembered it correctly. He couldn't help smiling at the action. In the past three years, he had picked up Verbal pretty well, he no longer used the translator when watching Verbal media and it had been nice to speak his native tongue once in awhile. 

The light on the door switched to blue, an all clear sign and Pitch turned to tell Jack they could step off the ship. Jack was still muttering to himself, but instead of the celebratory phrase he was hoping to say to the Prince he was, possibly, talking to the deathling. 

"Don't you dare screw up or make me leave Earth sooner than I want, or I'll kill you, I'll find a away."

Not necessarily a good sign, but not one serious enough to call off the trip. Pitch really wanted to see his daughter.

"Jack, we can step outside now."

His head snapped up in time with door whooshing open and he flew out the door. Pitch took a more leisurely pace down the ramp, watching Jack look around the bay for their hosts. "Where's Sera? And Manny?"

"Over there." Pitch nodded his head towards a door opening near the shuttle's front. They too had had to wait for the dock to fill with breathable air before entering once it had opened to space to let the shuttle in. 

Jack flew forward, throwing a loop in his path, and Seraphina ran forward giggling. 

"Jack! Jack! You're okay!"

"Course I am! It takes more than death to stop me." Jack landed and poked his chest with a bragging thumb. The Verbal rolled off his tongue. Sera laughed again and threw her arms around Jack's neck.

"How you doing, kiddo?"

"Better, now that you're here."

"What, Manny not taking good care of you?"

"Manny?"

"He means me." The Prince reached the pair of them at a similar time as Pitch, albeit from the other side. 

"Manny!" Jack pried Sera off of him and gave a bow. The Prince raised a hand, no doubt to say the gesture was useless, when Jack recited the Verbal phrase Pitch had told him in the hold. "I congratulate you on the honor of your mother's growth."

Lunanoff froze and Pitch mentally hit himself. Jack had shared the details of his battle with the deathling and Charaka with Pitch, but Pitch himself hadn't told the tale to anyone. What a way of finding out your mother had survived the fall of Aurelius and its kingdom. 

"I, thank you Jack."

Jack beamed at the monarch, but the Prince didn't notice it for he was looking at Pitch instead. 

Seraphina turned to look at him too. "Um...hello," she said. Sera swept her eyes up and down him twice, but nothing more. Suddenly, she grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him towards the main body of the ship. 

"Come on! I have something I want you to try."

Pitch watched them go, the laughter the pair of them released making him feel light. This trip seemed like it would do both of them good. Still, it made him sad that his daughter still didn't recognize him.

* * *

"Care to explain what Jack meant about my mother, General?" Kokab could ask about other things later, like Jack's progress and comment about just how drastic his appearance had changed. Family was more important.

"Ah," Pitch said. "You are aware that Jack absorbed the deathling, but haven't heard the whole story have you?"

"No. Tell it." Kokab started walking, already expecting their conversation would be best handled with a drink in hand. Pitchner fell into step beside him.

"The deathling, as you know, was created to destroy."

"Yes, I...felt terrified as soon as Jack came close. I could feel death rolling off him."

"He's actually gotten that well under control. Before, I felt it's effects while it was in space eating stars and I was in a shuttle a parsec away."

Kokab hid his shudder. It didn't sit right with him, knowing someone whom he had chosen to protect children now radiated such a feeling. How was Jack supposed to be a Guardian now?

He shook his head. He should be happy Jack was alive, that the universe was alive, and not lamenting over the changes. If Jack knew just how much his new self unnerved Kokab, learned just how different his new self was from his old one, they could all be dead according to the general walking beside him. And Kokab believed it. The deathling, and now Jack, had a tremendous amount of power. 

Pitchner continued. "Someone created the deathling after Aurelius fell, your mother. Jack confronted her in the center of the deathling, she was...not in her right mind, talking to herself and not knowing Jack could hear her. Her grief, for you and your father, is what had driven her to create the deathling in the first place."

"Your report mentioned someone had created the deathling, and then started fusion just after Jack absorbed the deathling and the force of it damaged the ships. The Guardians said the same. But you failed to mention it was my mother, why?" Kokab entered a sitting lounge and took a seat. Pitchner sat across from him and a moonbot came in with a tray of drinks.

"None of us knew it was her. Just that it was a juvenile star. Jack only mentioned details about her months after the Guardians returned to Earth and at that time I had other pressing concerns."

And then time passed. Kokab couldn't hold that against Pitchner, hadn't he just told his daughter about him?

"Do you...do you have the coordinates for her? I don't know if I'll be able to visit myself, but I can send a message via moonbot."

"Yes, of course."

Kokab sipped at his drink. To think Charaka had been alive this whole time, just as lost as Seraphina. He would have looked for her if he had known, he wouldn't have had to be so alone. Maybe his mother would not have created the deathling, Seraphina wouldn't have kidnapped Jack three years ago, and Jack wouldn't be a walking disaster who wasn't to know he was one. It gave him a headache.

Kokab rubbed at his forehead and suddenly remembered General Pitchner was sitting across from him. He had forgotten, and while it was obvious the other man had questions he hadn't voiced any. Old manners from an old civilization.

"Pitchner, ask what you want. Speak freely with me. I don't get much conversation."

"Yes, my Prince." Kokab knew that Pitchner, like the moonbots, would never be able to rid himself of his old image of Kokab as the stellar prince. At least he wasn't calling him 'Tsar'. 

"Seraphina, she still doesn't recognize me, does she?"

"No, I'm sorry. I told her who you are. Explained how you became Pitch Black and now have reclaimed your memories and returned to your previous self, but she doesn't believe me I'm afraid."

Kokab could see the sorrow paint Pitchner's face and he reached out a hand to cover the general's. The other man stared at him in shock and Kokab smiled, keeping his hand there. Old manners might say no touching the royal family, but Kokab didn't like to follow them.

"She's...getting better. A little bit. I managed to have an intelligent conversation with her the other day, and her thoughts are more focused. It used to be her kitchen creations where only edible if the moonbots made adjustments but she makes food entirely on her own now. Spend time with her while you're here. Let her know that you're still Kozmotis Pitchner, the father who loves her." And distract her from Jack, he wanted to add but Kokab didn't know if that was because he was afraid she would go back to her strong fixation or if it was just his jealously flaring up.

"I plan to."

* * *

Jack was vaguely reminded of the time Sera kidnapped him three years ago. She was chattering at him fast while she circled around him like a hyper kid, pulling at his wrists, tugging at his sleeve, nudging him in the back. The only difference seemed to be that he now understood Verbal. He wouldn't call himself fluent by any means, despite all the practice he had had, but he was pretty advanced. 

"I'm so happy you came! I've been watching your star and when you ate I watched the dead space-"

Jack did his best not to frown at the mention of star eating. It still upset him, how not only had he willingly killed but enjoyed it. And not just the deathling, him too. That scared him, because that was a sign of losing himself, of losing control. He pushed it away. He hadn't been joyful at death and the power it gave him, he had been happy at the amount of control he had shown over the deathling.

As if summoned, he could feel a surge of pleasure from the deathling. You promised regular feeding while we're on Earth. It gave him a flash of Seraphina lying on the floor, chest still.

Not as vivid as earlier images, but still not pleasant. And they didn't come with the urging to attack.

"Jack? Jack what's wrong?"

He blinked and Sera was peering into his eyes. 

"Nothing."

"You're still fighting it, you have to keep your strength up!" She stepped backwards, tugging on Jack's hoodie pocket. "Let's go to the kitchen. I made you something!"

"Sure," he laughed and rose into the air. The Moon Clipper was larger than the shuttle, there were mini air currents and space to fly. Jack was going to take advantage of that. 

Sera pouted from below and he scooped her up so he could carry her. "Turn left up here. Now right."

Jack followed her directions, content in his happiness of having someone to play with and feeling the power of belief coming form Earth.

* * *

Pitch was antsy, he didn't like having Jack out of his sight. On the shuttle it was fine, but this wasn't there and on top of that he was with Seraphina. This was a test for Jack and the deathling, and like any test the proctor had to be nearby to observe it. Granted, if the deathling part of Jack took over Pitch was positive he would hear about it. No, it was the little things he wanted to look out for. The subtle clues facial cues, like Jack not looking into people's eyes that said the deathling was presenting him with disturbing images or thoughts. Or the brief seconds where it appeared he was thinking but was really recovering from a mini death.

Neither were serious on their own, they could and had been dealt with in their own time and both habits had all but disappeared before landing on the Moon Clipper, but Pitch wanted to look out for them all the same. They would serve as a warning system and allow him to pull Jack away from Earth before he beat humans to destroying the Amazon Rainforest. 

"Is there any way of knowing where - where Jack and Seraphina are?" He was strangely tempted to say ' my children', even though Jack was technically not his son, Seraphina didn't know he was her father, and she and the Prince are the same age. Both Lunanoff and Seraphina, if things had been a bit different, would have most likely had families by now. Not exactly people in the midst of childhood.

"I'm sure they're fine. Seraphina just wanted to give him a tour of the ship and then take him to the kitchen. She's convinced that the best way to help Jack is to make sure he gets proper meals and so has been practicing cooking."

Pitch put his palms on the arms of the chair in an effort to stand up. "I'm still worried, neither of them are entirely right in their heads."

"General, I took your warnings prior to your visit to heart. All the moonbots are carrying concealed star silver, the moonmice are in the walls near the interior guns, and everyone on board is actively watching Jack. I may not know where he is, but the ship knows." He frowned, and Pitch could tell Lunanoff felt just as mixed towards the newest Guardian as he did. Jack was someone you wanted to trust, and had in the past, but might not be worthy of it anymore and that made you feel sad, bitter, and old.

Still, it was reassuring to know his feelings were shared. That Lunanoff cared for Jack and feared him. 

The fearlings under his skin picked up at it and the feeling made him a little ill. Still, they weren't reacting to the deathling gaining more control and presence in Jack. He would feel that even if Jack was on Earth. But that was a drastic difference and he wanted to spot concerns before the deathling was wild enough to effect the fearlings.

"It would make me feel better to at least check up on them. And for future reference, star crystal hurts as well."

Lunanoff made a humming noise and waved at a moonbot standing in the corner. "Can you take us to Seraphina and Jack Frost?"

"Certainly, my Prince," it intoned while bowing stiffly. "They are in the dining room." It turned to lead the way and as decorum dictated Pitch let the Prince rise and take the lead.

* * *

"How did you even make these?" Jack nibbled on a bit of maple candy. They had been a treat his mother and sister used to surprise him with when Jack had to spend long hours in the snow chopping firewood. His mom would make simple shapes, circles and filled in squares, but Olivia insisted on drawing the outline of animals in the snow. Or one year letters though she never got more than two in a word to stay connected while they hardened. 

"I couldn't pour them in snow, like the book said," Sera frowned, "but the moonbots would fill a bow with shaved ice and it seemed to work."

"Saves on frostbitten fingers too." He could see the images in his head, tiny hands turning black. Thankfully, it wasn't attributed to someone's hands in particular. 

"I made stew too!" Sera looked down at the plate of candy between them, torn over having another piece, and Jack was struck by a thought he hadn't had three years ago when he believed himself kidnapped by a fire alien. Okay, he actually was kidnapped by a fire alien. Who gave him all his memories back. However, it was only now he realized just how childish she was. Sera reminded him of a younger Jamie and Sophie, eagerly showing him drawings they had done.

Sera was much older than him, she should have grown up ages ago.

The thought was sneering, even in his head, and it took Jack back. He was the Guardian of Fun! Laughter and joy, acting under your age, being willing to look and be stupid for enjoyment, these were all things he represented. Sera was enjoying life and he should be enjoying her enjoyment.

 _Shut up_ he directed at the deathling, but he didn't get an answer.

* * *

Kokab paused in the entry to the dining room. Jack and Seraphina were sitting across from each other and one of the moonbots from the kitchen was ladling out the stew she had been working on for awhile. Seraphina was smiling at Jack, eyes alive, and he felt a twinge of jealously. He was used to the feeling, but this twinge felt particularly large looking at the two of them.

Seraphina never smiled that big at him, was never that animated when they shared a meal.

It hurt to look at her, so Kokab turned his attention to Jack instead. He had only gotten a quick look at the Guardian in the hull earlier and so took the opportunity to examine him now. He no longer would be mistaken with for a star herder, not with that gray hair and dark eyes. But what disturbed Kokab the most was Jack's skin; it kept catching his eye like those pictures of waterfalls on Earth, the ones with LEDs that made the water look like it was flowing. Jack's skin gave the same effect - expect there really were things under is skin and instead of moving water it looked like gray worms.

Kokab hated to admit that it disturbed him greatly, even more so when he remembered that Jack's current form could be attributed to Charaka Lunanoff. 

He turned his head and realized just where he was, standing in the doorway to his own dining room with a General Kozmotis Pitchner hovering over his shoulder. He was obviously blocking the way. Kokab quickly opened his mouth to explain why he had stopped, but Pitchner got there first.

"It's strange, standing here and watching her. I remember I used to just walk into our house, and no matter where she was Sera would know I was home and come careening around a corner. She's never not greeted me." There was a look on such longing on his face, for something so simple and platonic, that Kokab felt bad for his jealous feelings.

"Still," Pitchner went on, "Even if she doesn't know me I know her and it is an amazing feeling knowing Sera is alive when for so many years I believed the fearlings had her."

Kokab kept quiet, not sure what to say, and they spent another moment looking at the pair, Jack now complementing Seraphina's cooking. Jack turned his head and caught sight of them.

"You two look like someone just killed your pet cat. Come join us, Sera's a good cook." He directed it towards the pair of them, but Kokab could tell that he was mainly talking to Pitchner. 

Kokab stepped forward before the general could and claimed the seat next to Seraphina.

* * *

"Now, remember," Tooth said as she hovered just above their heads, "Jack's a little different now, inside and out, and you're only allowed to talk about the change in his appearance."

Jamie resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. The Guardians had said something similar many times since last evening and it was getting a touch annoying. But it was also very important. Pitch had explained things in a letter before, passed on by Manny, but last night while Manny and Seraphina were hanging with Jack the Boogieman had visited the Pole for a more elaborate discussion. 

Pitch was a fearling host, Jack was not. He _was_ the deathling, what affected one affected the other. His magic had been altered, as had been his personality. And his looks, but Jamie and the rest of the Brigade had known that before thanks to Bunny's drawings from the brief glance he had gotten of Jack three years ago. Most important, Jack only knew he was physically different. To keep the merger between the two of them as it was now, to keep Jack Frost the Guardian in control, he had to think he was Jack Frost the Guardian and not a spirit merged with death.

Pointing out anything that could lead to Jack analyzing his personality changes could result in anything a simple as a dead garden to something as major as a dead planet.

As a back up plan in case things did go sour, Pitch had handed them all small daggers that looked liked they were made from ice. Bunny had turned his over with awe and Sandy's eyes had widened in pleasure. Not ice, but star crystal, Bunny had explained. A material only found on Pitch's, and Manny's and Seraphina's, home planet of Wrice. It was also the best weapon against the deathling.

"Use it only for emergencies," Pitch insisted and it had been so weird seeing worry and concern on his face. "It hurts the deathling a lot, and so it hurts Jack a lot too." His face had pinched in remembered horror and Jamie guessed he had pierced Jack with the crystal sometime in the past three years and hated that it hurt Jack.

Fancy that, a remorseful Boogieman. North was right, those unlocked memories had changed him.

"He's coming!" Pippa pointed out the window as a small space ship descended in a hover outside the Pole. It was tear dropped shaped, with a insignia of a star constellation Jamie didn't know. His friends and sister pressed up against the glass, the taller Guardians behind them while Tooth and Sandy took advantage of flight to peer out the higher panes of the window. 

Instead of pressing his face against the glass, Jamie raced to the wooden elevator. It had been a while since he'd really walked through the Workshop. His visits had been less as time went by and then he had been content to staying in the room the snowglobes had him appear in. But Jamie still knew where the doors were. He got to them just as a yeti opened the door to outside. 

Pitch was there, standing behind Jack, but Jamie dismissed him. He also dismissed the quick changes he saw in Jack - the navy eyes and gray hair - in order to give him a running hug.

Jack let out an 'oof' as Jamie hit him and then reached up to return the hug. Jamie had been taller than Jack for five years now.

Jamie had to release the hug quicker than he would have liked. Jack - no, the deathling inside of Jack - made the small hairs all over his body stand on end. It remind Jamie of walking through graveyards at night looking for ghosts. At age 8, Pitch Black had given him a touch of fear with his presence. But now, Jack Frost was giving Jamie a sense of danger. Fast, violent, and bloody like in the horror movies. 

Pulling away, Jamie couldn't help but shudder.

Pitch and Jack both noticed it.

"You okay there, Jamie?" Jack asked, voice uncertain. Jamie got the feeling that as much as Pitch had been trying to downplay the changes Jack had been through, the frost spirit had some observations of his own. 

Jamie caught Pitch's eyes before answering. The Boogeyman gave a small head shake.

"Yeah, I just forgot how cold you were. You've been gone a long time. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. I can't believe I missed your first year at college. Are you and Cupcake still together?"

Before Jamie could answer, there were squeals of excitement and a flash of colors as people rounded the corner. Pippa, Sophie and Tooth led the pack, followed by Mony, Cupcake, Claude and Caleb, with Sandy, North, and Bunny coming at a more sedate pace but still with a sense of excitement. Jamie noticed that after a short hug, everyone stepped back from Jack. Conversation kept flowing, there was a lot to catch up on, but no one except Pitch touched Jack again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look at that! We were back in Jack's head a little bit. Hadn't planned it, but Pitch and Kokab were talking and I couldn't just ignore what the kids were doing. Might return to him again for a confrontation with Pippa too. You guys didn't think I'd mention her kiss attack several times since the first fic and not return to it, did you?
> 
> Also trying real hard in this fic to show how much Jack's personality had changed but I'm not sure if that's working. I mean, he's still a happy go lucky guy, but his sense of humor is darker now. He takes pleasure in violence where he didn't before and isn't as quick to dismiss the troubles of his past. Are you getting that? I feel like Pitch talked about it in previous chapters, but you guys haven't really _seen_ it. That might have to be a Jamie section thing.


End file.
